首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
(1)After taking a brief hiatus to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain by some of America’s best-known retail brands—in
(1)After taking a brief hiatus to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain by some of America’s best-known retail brands—in
admin
2019-01-22
34
问题
(1)After taking a brief hiatus to weather the recession, an invasion of Britain by some of America’s best-known retail brands—including Best Buy, Banana Republic and Forever 21—is back on the march. And early reports from the front line in the land of shopkeepers indicate that, unlike with earlier attempts by U. S. retailers to break Britain, British consumers are welcoming the invaders with open arms—and wallets.
(2)That’s not always been the case. While the British public has long had an appetite for American fast-food vendors, the record of U.S. retailers who have tried to make it big in Britain is mixed. But the latest arrivals enter the market as already established brands with built-in consumer awareness, thanks to the dominance of U.S. culture in media and online. And they satisfy British shoppers’ desire for "something new," says analyst Natalie Berg, of London-based consultants Planet Retail. "They all bring a cult aspect" to the U.K. high street.
(3)Best Buy—America’s largest consumer-electronics chain—kicked off the latest rush into the British market in May, when it opened its first-ever U.K. store. The 4,650-sq-m big-box outlet in the London suburb of Thurrock is the first of eight to 10 stores Best Buy expects to open in the country this year. And it has proved an impressive beachhead: in terms of sales volume, that first weekend was the chain’s biggest opening weekend in its 27-year history. "We had strong expectations," says Paul Antoniadis, CEO of Best Buy UK (who won’t reveal how much they took in over those first three days). "But the actual delivery was brilliant."
(4)For some U.S. stores, this will be their first foray into the UK Following in Best Buy’s footsteps is California-based Forever 21, which specializes in cheap, trendy clothes for young women and will open its first U.K branch in Birmingham, northern England, in November. But for others, now is the time to expand on past success. Hollister, which is owned by Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), has proved extremely popular in Britain since it launched its first surf-shack-chic store in London in 2008. Hollister rode the recession like it was the perfect wave. Despite the economic downturn, it opened 11 more stores across the U.K over the past two years, most recently in April. As a result, A&F reports that average sales volume for Hollister’s British stores is six times the level of its U.S. stores.
(5)Meanwhile, Gap-owned Banana Republic, which debuted in London two years ago, opened its second and third stores in the city last December and April this year. Even in what was a tough year for retailers of all nationalities, Banana Republic’s total U.K. net sales in last year hit $24 million, up from $23 million a year earlier.
(6)What’s the attraction? Britain boasts an overall retail market worth around $415 billion—a tempting target. The U.K is also a good launchpad for further expansions into continental Europe. Moreover, thanks to growing online sales, U.S. retailers no longer have to blanket Blighty with shops to achieve full market penetration. They can open a few flagship stores in key cities, and back them up with a strong Web presence, which in turn reduces overheads and risk.
(7)The Internet also provides a strong prelaunch marketing tool: Best Buy set up a U.K. website back in January that featured blogs, forums and advice, and used social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to build anticipation for the Thurrock launch. And there’s a new, postdownturn draw too: cheaper rents. U.K. retail rents have historically been sky high, particularly in London. Now many landlords-hit by a raft of vacancies-are willing to bargain.
(8)While the invasion is off to strong start, U.S. retailers shouldn’t consider Britain a sure thing. U.K. retailing is a highly mature market that’s brutally competitive, particularly now as retailers battle to entice credit-crunched shoppers back into shops. "It’s probably not a great time to enter the British market," says Sarah Peters, an analyst at British retailing consultants Verdict Research, "But I’m not sure if there is ever a good time." Indeed, Britain’s retailing landscape is littered with the bones of successful U.S. retailers who stumbled badly when they crossed the Atlantic.
(9)Limited Brands, in conjunction with British fashion chain Next, failed in an attempt in the 1990s to transplant Bath & Body Works to Britain. And Whole Foods Market, which opened a massive food emporium in London in 2007, lost around $52 million in the British capital last year, thanks in part to formidable competition from mainstream British supermarket chains that are already well stocked with organic groceries.
(10)If this latest flock of U.S. retailers does well in the U.K., it will likely be because they offer British shoppers something completely different. Forever 21, for example, will face resistance from established, strong domestic clothing brands, including Topshop, New Look and Primark. But Best Buy, on the other hand, has an edge. Not only are its big-box stores a novelty in Britain, but so is the brand’s emphasis on customer service. Its Geek Squad unit gives customers round-the-clock technical support, and shoppers can use its in-store setup service to configure gadgets before taking them home. "Consumer-electronics stores in the U.K. traditionally have not had good reputations for customer service," says Matthew Piner, another Verdict Research analyst. "And no one has really challenged them before."
(11)To pay for its U.K. invasion, Best Buy, which was pummeled by the recession, has already shelled out around $30.5 million and expects to spend around another $50 million to $58 million this fiscal year. That’s a big bet. But for Best Buy, and many other U.S. retailers, the potential payoff for succeeding in Britain means it’s one worth making.
To show the success of American retailers, the passage cites the following examples EXCEPT _____.
选项
A、Best Buy has gained most of the market share in Britain
B、Forever 21 extended its branches in many cities of Britain
C、the sales volume of Hollister in Britain is five times more than in America
D、Banana Republic is well-known in Britain from its website, blogs and forums
答案
D
解析
第7段第1句提到Best Buy利用网站、博客和论坛进行宣传,而选项D张冠李戴,因此符合题意。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/KWEK777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
BookerT.Washington,aneducationalleader,workedthroughoutthelifetimetoimproveeconomicconditionsforBlackpeopleint
Thegovernment’scontinuingfailuretoaddressournation’sgut-wrenchingunemploymentstemsfromafundamentaldisagreemento
Brooklyn,NewYork,hadapopulationofabout23,000whenitbecomesacityin1834.
TheInternetprovidesanamazingforumforthefreeexchangeofideas.Giventherelativelyafewrestrictionsgoverningaccess
CrossCulturalBusinessPresentationsWithinthebusinessenvironment,understandingandcopingwithinterculturaldifferencesb
FiveGoldenRulesforGivingAcademicPresentationsAcademicpresentationsaredifferentfromtheclassroompresentationsthats
CulturalCharacteristics&WebsitesI.HighandlowcontextculturesA.High-contextcommunication:dependonfactors【T1】_____:【
拥有感恩的心,用感恩的心回报他人,感恩身边的人和事。很多时候,感恩的心被解读为知恩图报,实际上还应解读为一种幸福的生活方式,因为常怀感恩之心的人,内心总是充满了感动。而那些受益者怀着理所应当的心态,或者一味扮演索取者的角色,是永远无法感受到这份感动的,并会
WhydosomanyAmericansdistrustwhattheyreadintheirnewspapers?TheAmericanSocietyofNewspaperEditorsistryingtoa
Today’scollegestudentsaremorenarcissisticandself-centeredthantheirpredecessors,accordingtoacomprehensivenewstud
随机试题
肾上腺素和去甲肾上腺素对心血管的效应是()。
在Word2010中,创建的模板文件名必须以.dotx为扩展名。()
血尿不明显的肾疾病是
下列哪项不属湿证的证候
酚妥拉明兴奋心脏的机制是
慢性盘状红斑狼疮是一种
一脱水患儿表现烦躁、烦渴、高热、尿少,应考虑
根据《建设工程质量管理条例》,建设工程质量保修书应由()出具。
当前城市化建设模式单一,很多城镇失去了原有特色。你怎么看?
“对立面的统一是有条件的、暂时的、易逝的、相对的。相互排斥的对立面的斗争则是绝对的,正如发展、运动是绝对的一样”。对这句话的正确理解是
最新回复
(
0
)